Switching circuit



John D. llohannesen, itflorris iilsins, NJ., souligner to Bell Telephone Laboratories, incorporated, New lorllr, NSY., n corporation ol' New Yorlr Filed inn. d, 11953, Ser. No. Tii'l'dil il@ Claims. (El. lill-mild) This invention relates to electrical transmission circuits and more particularly to transmission circuits including gated signal amplifying means applicable to information handling systems.

Communication networks, ss employed in telephone systems, for example, necessarily incorporate components which tend` to produce signal losses in transmission. Such losses, of course, must be minimized if satisfactory service is to be maintained. Signal amplification may be utilized to offset the losses, and in long distance wire transmission particularly, signal amplifiers or repeaters have provided a satisfactory solution to the problem. The prior Vart discloses a variety of unilateral amplifiers suitable for use in such repeater applications.

Telephone transmission systems are basically of two types described generally as twoswire and four-wire systems. for each direction of transmission, so that in such systems a unilateral repeater amplifier is favored. ln two-wire transmission systems, however. intelligence is transmitted in both directions between communicants over the sante two-wire path, so that unilateral amplifiers, if utilized in such applications, must be connected in pairs through hybrid coil arrangements to provide n bilateral repeater. Such connections, of course, are not economical of required components.

Another approach to bilateral amplification for two wire system utilization is to utilize an amplifier inductively coupled to the transmission line so that signals in either direction may be amplified by a single amplifier. Such an arrangement may be warranted for connection ofA stations in locations separated by appreciable distance, but for short haul transmission between stations in the same general locale as in private branch telephone errchange operation, the use of an inductively coupled amplifier in` each connecting line would be impractical. Also, on a time division multiplex basis in which a single, common communication linlc is shared by all stations, such amplification would be ineective. in the latter instance, the problem is one of location of the amplifier on the common bus. The .inductively coupled ampliher permits a form of bilateral amplification in which amplification: is effected in the direction in which the signal is proceeding. Thus it may be seen that a signal emanating from one of' s rst group of stations and proceeding toward one ot a .second group of stations may be amplihed by an intermediately located, inductively coupled am* plitier. if, however, the originating and receiving terminels are in the rst group of stations, the receiving terminal fails to derive any benefit from the amplifier. Thus, location of such an amplifier on the common bus so that it may amplify signals between any two stations would be impossible.

lt is a general object of this invention to provide an improved signal transmission system.

It is another obiect oi this invention to aldord a reduc- The latter'provides a distinct transmission path dii 'ill

.time division communication system to amplify signals between any pair of a plurality of terminals connected random to the common link.

It is thus n further object of this invention to provide u completely bilateral signal empliierA 'there and other objects of this invention nre steamed in specific illustrative embodiments wherein a twwire, space division, telephone' communication system and u time division multiplex communication system include a bilateral amplifier in accordance with the invention.

The basic elements of the space division system are the telephone terminal equipment, two-wire communicam tion channels and switching equipment to connect pairs of terminals to available channels. Each channel in systems oi this type, as known in the an, is provided with an arrangement of amplifiers and hybrid coils to amplify signals in either direction. This amplilication equipment necessarily is duplicated in the majority oi the channels employed to permit maintenance ein proper signal level for every conversation.

In accordance with this invention, a single bilateral gated amplifier may be associated with all of the communication channels in use by connection of a common linlr between the gated amplifier and consecutively operu ated channel gates. The inventive circuit comprises un amplifier, sampling gate means for transferring s signal sample from s channel through the associated channel gate during its interval of operation and over the common linlt to storage means associated with tho amplifier, output gate means for transferring the smplltied sample bach to the sampled channel during the same interval of channel gate operation, and clamping gate means for removing any of the sample remaining in the storage means between intervals of channel gate operation. The sampling gate means are enabled and disabled in nonn secutive Vtime intervals by a suitable trigger pulse gentu erstor such that samples from each channel are independently processed.

More specifically, the sampling gate means is enabled in unison with operation of each of the consecutively operated channel gates, allowing a signal sample to pass through a series resonant circuit, and is disabled when the voltage across the capacitor of the series resonant circuit, representing the signal sample, is a martimum. A high input impedance amplifier is connected across the capacitor, and when the sampling gate means is disableds the amplifier output is transmitted through the output gate means to the common link. 'the output gate menus is disabled in conjunction with the channel gates, and

thereafter, the clamping gate means, connected across the capacitor, is enabled so as to discharge to ground any signal remaining on the capacitor. The gated sin plifier is then in condition to receive a signal sample from another channel connecting a pair of terminals in communication.

The sampling technique and bidirectional quality of the amplified signal permit association of a single gated amplier, in accordance with the invention, with n pluralit'y of communication channels merely by .including bilateral gating means in each channel. Such gating means are connected to the input gating mutansv of the gated amplifier over a common link and are enabled sen queutally. Due to its unique gating arrangement, the amplifier thus may be shared in time among all ot the communication channels. l

maintenance of proper signal levels between terminals at opposite ends of the common link. lilou/ever, with termi nals connected at random intervals along the common link as indicated in branch exchange operation on a time division basis, the amplitler must be capable ol ampliication in either or both directions along the common link, regardless of the direction of travel ot the original signal. The gated amplifier, in accordance with invention, satises this requirement oli completely bilateral. ning/)lith cation. As the amplified signal sample is gated directly to the link without reference to the direction in which the signal is traveling along the linlr, ampliication may occur in either or both directions for every received signal sample. In this embodiment, the gated arnpli'iier has its various gate means operated in conjunction with operation of the terminal gat.

The signal sample required by gated amplier to achieve the desired gain in a communication system is only a small fraction ot the total signal. 'llana another distinct advantage of the invention ia appar-eut. Should a failure occur in acomponcat oi the gated amplifier circuit such that the circuit is'unable to provide the desired gain, normal transmission will vnot m. distracted. The transmitted-signal, absent the gain tro-zu the gated amplifier and reduced by the minute sample withdrawn for its operation, will nevertheless e adequate to' provide an acceptable operating level pending corres/tion oi the dificulty in the amplitiercircuit'. i

it is a feature of this invention that. a communication system comprise a bilateral, gated asnpliner common to all communication channels and providing antpliiication in both directions of transmission, inespective' ot the direction of transmission of received it is another tcature'oi invention that an amplifier be connected intermittently to a communie ion taedium by means of sequentially operated output sampling gate and the amplifier, and a capacitor in shunt between'the inductor and the amplifier being; included in the gated amplifier circuit.

It is still another feature oi this invention. that gating means be provided for discharging 'the capacitor while both sampling and output gates are disabled.

A complete understanding of this invention and ci these and various other features thereof may be gained from consideration of the accompanying drawing, in

which: Y Fig; 1 is a diagrammatic representation on' one illustrative kembodiment of this invention;

Fig. Z'is a diagrammatic representation of another illustrative embodiment of thin invention;

Fig. 3 is a more detailedschematic Representation of a portion of the representation of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of one aspect ol' the .gated ampliii'er circuitl in accordance viaith the invention;

Fig. 5 is aA schematic reprerentation ot another aspect of the gated ampliler circuit in Mortimer? vivilhltino infvention; and

till

j Fig. d is u timing sequence chart of tho operation. oi the inventive circuit in accordance with the embodiment shown in Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawing, lFig. l depicts a skeleton version of a space devision, voice frequency, telephone communication system comprising a plurality ol' telephone stations ltl connected in pairs by two-wire, ground ed, transmission lines ll. The conventional switching system for interconnecting various of the stations is omit ted in this example. A gated ampliier l2, in accordance with this invention, advantageously is connected over common link 13 to a capacitor 14 in each of the transmission lines 1l' through a series of gates 15. Gate control crcuit 16 applies signals to enable each of the gates l5 in succession, thereby applying successive signal samples stored in capacitors 1d over common linl; l to the gated amplifier l2. Each amplified signal sample is re turned to the originating line Il, after which the assoaus,

the amplilier 23, a series inductor 2d, an output gate 2d i f and .a discharge or clamping gate 25. Each of the various gates l5, Ztl, 24 and 25 advantageously` may be of' a two transistor type having bilateral transmission char acteristics as described hereinafter in connection with Fig. 3. f Y

' Signal samples to be amplified are supplied through sampling gate 2d which is enabled in unison with operation of each of the transmission line gates l5 by trigger pulses from gate control circuit lo. The sampling gate Ztl is disabled when the voltage across the capacitor 22 is a maximum. Theoretically, the action of the series resonant circuit should make the voltage on this capacitor rise to twice the voltage of the signal sample on the common linlt 13. In operation the voltage does not attainthis valuedue to circuit Q, but a substantial voltage rise is achieved. The amplier 23, advantageously of a impedance type, is connected across the capacitor 22, and when the sampling gate Ztl is disabled, the output gata Zd is activated to pass the amplifier output at the new voltage level 'to the common link 13 and trom thence ,to the transmission line ll which originated the signal. The gate llS associated with this line is then disabled as is the output gate 24 oi the ampliiler circuit. Inductor he performs au important function known as resonant transfer which will be described in detail hereinafter in connection with Fig. 3. Inductance is required between the amplierZS and each line l1 for resonant transfer purposes. An nductor iu each line 11 may be utilized,

with the simple time division multiplex telephone trans nu'ssion system shown in Fig. 2. The system comprises a plurality of telephone terminals, such as 27 and 2S, se1ving a localized operation and being associated with a remote @joop of telephone terminals, auch as 29, and withl each other by a two-wire common communication vlint: da, 'the essential circuit elements at cach terminal are 

